Blade dispensing container



R E N M M 0 C S G L N ET. m u I E D m B July 4, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 14, 1948 &jllllllllllllllk\\\\\ -INVENTOR. EDGAR A, NELSON ATTOR/VFX July 4, 1950 E. A. NELSON BLADE DISPENSING CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 14, 1948 F ICE-.8.

N 0 TS NL E E N m. A R A G D E Patented July 4, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICEI BL'ADE DISPENSING. CONTAINER EdganA. Nelson, New York; N. 1 assigponttr AmericanSafety Razor Corporation, Brooklyn, N 3L, .acorporationofVirginia Application February 14, 1948, Serial No. 8,391

4-Claims. 1.

This invention: relates to an improved blade containing magazine which dispenses; the contained: blades and moreparticularly to a magazine wherein thedispensing is efiected by ad.- vancing single blades insuccession part way out of: the magazine topermitits projected end to be engaged and itsremoval completed manuallyfor manual placement in a razor.

The blades for which the magazine are devised are-.otthethinflexible wafer type: Thesepara tion-ofv a single-blade from a contained: stack of such blades presents these problems among others:. the danger-oimarringa shaving edge; the tendency of the underlying blade to, adhere to and! advance. with the-one being separated; and where; as here, thesblade-is. only partially projected, the-lack oi a firmhold-on. the projected bladeand. the danger Ofi'itSf retreat back into the container.

Amongv the more im ortant objects of my inventiontherefore are; an; improved and inexpensive blade magazine from which blades-can. be projected one at. a; time. and more particularly a magazineof. this type which-is comprised of few partswhiclr can bereadilyassembled and-loaded withblades; the provision in a blade magazine,

ofan improved; dispensing. meanswhereby only a.singe1 blade canbe separated from-a-stack at a time; the provisionof. an improved arrangement wherein. a. partially projected blade will: be held firmly for. manualcompletion of the blade separation, and more. particularlywhereinthe retreat of apartially. projectedblade is prevented.

For the attainment of. these objects and such other objects as may hereafter. appear or be-pointed.out,..I hayerillustratedtan, embodiment of my I invention inthe drawingswherein:

Figs. 1., 2. and.3are. perspective views each of one 4 of. the three. parts of.- which. my magazine is comprised;

Figftisaperspectiye: view. of these. three parts in their assembled relation .tacomplete the magazine;

Fig.5 is a. vertical section on anenlargediscale taken .on line 55.of.Fig.

Fig. Sis atop eleyational viewon. an enlarged scale, of partofthe front wall of. the container;

Fig.7v is a section onan enlarged scale taken on line 11 of Fig, 3;

Fig. 8 is a section on an enlarged scale taken on line8--8ofF.ig. 4;

Figs. 9, 10 and 11' are sections similar tothat of Fig. 8; showing successivestages in advancing a blade from out of the container;

Fig. 12 is a sectionztakenzon line I2--l2 of Fig. 4;. also on an enlargedascale; and

Fig. 13 is a perspeotiveview similar-to-that-of Fig; 4-,. however with the: blade; parti ly projected fromthe: magazine.

For convenience of; illustration, the enlargement of the scale-of. Figs; 5 170-12, inclusiveare not ofthe identicalorder.

Upon reference'to Sheet; 2' of the drawings, it will-be observed that the blades B contained, with? in the magazine in; the illustratedv embodiment are shown as of a standard flexible wafer-type slotted longitudinally to receive the-blade locating bar of one type razorand: whichslotiswidened transversely of. its. length; to provideropehings B and B to receiveblade locating, pins. of Patent No.- 875,254.

The embodiment illustrated in. the drawings is apreferred one becausei-t will containanddis pense: this, blade which-is in;popular-use-. I will here premise that some of my objects are attained by reference to. structural elements: present in this, blade and: that others are. attained without such reference. Blade openings B and Ware-examples ofthe former. andeven these attain my objects whether formed independently or asenlargements-of an already'existingslot.

Them-agazine is comprisedof the container I0 open at thetop, closure for this open top and spring for elevating the hladestack-toengage the topmost blade withtheundersurface ofthe topclosure 3B; As. will bepointedout herein:- after, top. closure 30.- serves additionally'to advance the, topmost bladepart-wayout: of the container.

The blade receiving. compartment of the container is defined by bottom H, frontand rear walls 12.. and. i3, andopposedside walls. l4. Lugs l.5.project. inwardly fromthefront and rear Walls respectively. These lugs. are dimensioned and located! to engage in. the cut away corners B which characterize the standardbladeillustrated inv the drawings to. hold. the, blades stacked vertically with their. shaving edges. outof contact withthe container. walls.

The side walls M of thecontainer to are reducedinthickness along their length. to provide depressions or channels. Hij lengthwise of the upper portion of their outer faces. The. dimensions and contours of. the. cover approximate those. of the outer faces of; the upstanding walls of, the container. '3'! dependingdownwardly. from, the, opposedpside edges thereof so that the cover can be assembled with the container byengagingthe flange portions 3! of the former in the depressions-or channels it of the latter. These fiangesareso dimensioned that when in the assembled relation Thecover. 3ll'is provided with flanges of the parts, the outside faces of these flanges will be coplanar with the outer faces of the side wall portions therebelow. The assembly operation is facilitated by the fact that the flanges are sufliciently flexible to permit them to spread apart slightly for the assembly and then to relax into their intended position of engagement.

The front wall I2 of the container is reduced in height to leave shoulders it where it joins the side walls. This reduction in height of the front wall 12 is intended to approximate the thickness of the blade being dispensed. This thickness will be assumed for illustrative purposes to be of the order of .006". This reduction in the height of the front wall provides a passageway through which the topmost blade can be moved out of the container and is defined at the bottom by the top H of the front wall and at its sides by the shoulders 38. This passageway is closed at its top by the front end of the cover which is immediately thereabove.

Reference has been made to the fact that the cover 30 serves also to advance the topmost blade and the arrangement for doing this will nowbe set forth. The cover flanges 3| have spaced apart inwardly directed projections or teats 33 formed'in'any preferred or desired manner and so located and dimensioned that when these flanges 3! are engaged into the depression or channel N5 of the container, the projections or teats 33 will snap into the elongated aligned grooves or channels provided in the channels l6 in the side walls of the container, so that the cover will be held thereby against accidental separation from the container. The grooves 25 in the container side walls are extended lengthwise of the containers to permit an advance of the cover relatively to the container. This advance is however limited by the length of these grooves 25. A comparison of Figs. 4 and 13 will show the extent of advance which the cover may be given.

Upon reference to Fig. 3 it will be observed that that portion of the rear wall 13 between the locating lugs I 6 has been reduced in height to provide a depression which is defined by the lowered top portion !9 of the rear wall and the end shoulders 26.

The rear end of the cover is depressed centrally thereof as shown at'35 to provide the shoulder 36. The depressed area is dimensioned to fit into the aforementioned depression in the rear wall. It will be observed on viewing Fig. 8 that this shoulder 36 is located to the rear of the blade stack and it will be here stated that its height approximates the thickness of the blade. As a result the shoulder 3t will be in registration with the topmost blade so that if the cover is advanced from its position of Fig. 4, to its position of Fig. 13, the shoulder will engage only the topmost blade and advance it and will clear the blade immediately therebelow.

By comparing Figs. 3, 4, 6 and '7, it will be seen that the front wall has a protuberance 23 (Shown on enlarged scale in Fig. 6) projecting upwardly centrally from its top surface l'I. Upon comparing Figs. 6 and 7, it will be seen that this protuberance comprises a portion 20 whose top face inclines downwardly rearwardly from the upper level at line 22 which is above that of top I! of the front wall, to a lower level which is shown as slightly therebelow. For a blade thickness of the order of .006", it is found that a top level for the inclined face 2! of approximately .008" above the front wall top I! and a bottom level of .002" below this top wall will adequately serve my purposes.

It will be further observed that the protuberance has a front ortion 21 whose top face is shown as at the top level of the portion 20 and substantially parallel to the top H of the front wall. It will be observed further from Fig. 6 that the perimetrical or side walls of the portion 20 converge rearwardly toward the bottom level of that portion and that the perimetrical or side walls of the portion 2! cionverge forwardly. It will also be observed from Fig. 13 that the contours and dimensions of the protuberance are such when measured on a plane parallel to that of the top I! of front wall 12, that the protuberance is free to enter that enlarged opened B or B which is vertically thereabove and when so entered will bring these perimetrical or side ortions into adjacency to the widest part of the opening B or B so that retreat of the blade is prevented.

It will be observed that this inclined face portion 20 is presented in the path of the topmost blade in its advancement through the passageway and that during such advancement the lead edge of the blade will engage this inclined face portion or ramp and be flexed upwardly thereby as shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings.

The aforementioned protuberance 23 will obviously narrow the blade passageway there'through. I will now describe the provisions whereby the blade can be cleared through this passageway not withstanding this narrowing and whereby other objectives are attained.

Upon reference to Figs. 1, 4 and 8 it will be observed that the cover 30 is provided adjacent its front and rear edges with the arcuately shaped slots 31 and 31' which extend transversly of the long axis thereof. These arcuately shaped slots are shown as curved respectively into substantial parallelism with the adjacent front or rear edges of the cover member and are therefore presented with their concave curvatures in opposition. The cover portion intermediate these slots is corrugated'transversely, as shown at 38 and upon reference to Fig. 8 it will be observed that these corrugations are directed entirely upwardly with reference to the lower or inner face of the cover and therefore present no portions which project below that inner face. It will be further observed upon viewing Fig. 8 that the cover portion 39 to the front of the slot 37, and the cover portion 4!] to the rear of the slot 37 are shown as much thinner than the corrugated portion therebetween. As a result, the intermediate corrugated portion is relatively rigid because of itsincreased thickness and its corrugations; the front and rear cover portions 39 and 49 are inherently flexible because of their thinness; and the slots 31 and 37' isolate the front and rear cover portions 39 and 40 from the relatively rigid intermediate corrugated cover portion so that the former can flex freely without interference by the intermediate portion.

Upon reference to Fig. 1 12, it will be observed that the length of the corrugations 38 is such that the extreme beveled ends of the blades underlie the under surface of the cover 3!! laterally of these corrugations and by reference to Fig. 1 it will be observed that the slots 36 and 31 extend slightly laterally beyond the ends of the corrugations. The results attaind by this will be pointed out later.

Reference will now be made to the spring 50 shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. This spring comprises an upwardly concaved curve intermediate section 5!, and downwardly concaved lateral end sections 53 and 54. The free ends 55 and 56 of section 5! are bent approximately to the horizontal as is also true of the free ends 51 and 58 of the lateral sections 53 and 54. This character of construction will have a levelling effect in seating the spring on the container bottom and in elevating the stack.

The assembly and loading of the magazine is effected as follows: the spring of Fig. 2 is seated on the container bottom and blades then stacked thereon and depressed to flatten the spring and to engage the cut away corners of the stacked blades with lugs I5. The cover flanges 3| are then entered into the channels IS in the container side wall so that the protuberances 33 thereof engage in grooves 25. This completes the assembly operation to arrive at the loaded magazine shown in Fig. 4.

When it is desired to dispense a blade for use in a razor, the corrugated cover portion is engaged by a finger and advanced to its position of Fig. 13. In this movement, the shoulder 36 will engage the rear end of the topmost blade and advance it with the cover to engage its lead end B with the ramp and move it therealong. In this movement, the lead end is flexed upwardly as shown in Fig. 9. The flexed lead end of the blade in turn engages and flexes upwardly the front portion 39 of the cover to thus increase the clearance through the passageway and apply a yieldable resistance to prevent undesired movement of the blade.

When the cover member has been advanced as shown in Fig. 13, protuberance 23 will underlie opening 13 The fixed end of the blade will then be free to relax to its normal plane to engage the opening B about protuberance 23. The cover is then returned to its starting position to Fig. 4 to clear the projected lead end of the overlying cover as shown in Fig. 11 for manual engagement for moving the blade entirely out of the magazine. In this further manually effected movement to completely separate the blade from the magazine, the blade portions to the rear of the opening B will fiex upwardly over the ramp 23 and correspondingly flex the front cover portion 39 so that the blade will at all times during its removal have a slight frictional resistance applied thereto by the flexed front cover portion 39 sufficient to prevent undesired or accidental movement thereof.

It will thus be seen that the arrangement herein disclosed permits the separation or projection from the stack of only the topmost blade and that at all stages in this separation, a yieldable resistance will be offered to blade movement. This arrangement also attains the further objective of preventing the retreat of the blade with the return of the cover. This is effected by the engagement of the front or lead portions of the opening 13 with the upstanding walls of protuberance portion 21.

I have described the details of construction of a specific embodiment as the preferred one for the reason, among others, that it services a well known and widely used specific type of blade. It will be understood however that the attainment of features of my invention permits of the wide range of variation in the magazine construction to service the illustrated blade or other type blades for which the magazine may be devised. The specific magazine and blade structure shown in the drawings are therefore merely illustrative and elements thereof are significant in the attainment of my inventive features only when and to the detail with which their presence is set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. A magazine for dispensing razor blades having a blade locating opening, said magazine being comprised of bottom, front, rear and side wall portions to define a compartment, a top closure for said compartment, means within the compartment for locating and maintaining a stack of blades therein in vertical registration with their shaving edges parallel to and spaced from said side wall portions and yieldable means beneath the stack for elevating it to engage the topmost blade of the stack with the inner face of the top closure, said front wall portion having a blade discharging passageway aligned with the topmost blade of the elevated stack, and of a height substantially equal to the blade thickness, and a projection extending upwardly from the bottom of and into said passageway, said projection being so dimensioned that it can enter the aforementioned locating opening in the blade, said top closure engaging the rear end of the topmost blade and being mounted for limited advancement for advancing the topmost blade through the passageway for a sufficient distance to bring its locating opening into vertical registration with said projection to permit the projection to enter the blade opening and thus prevent a reverse movement of the advanced blade.

2. A magazine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the projection presents an inclined surface to the advancing blade to flex its lead end upwardly until the lead end of the blade opening has cleared the projection to permit the blade to relax to bring the projection into abutting relation thereto to prevent retreat of the blade.

3. A magazine as set forth in claim 2 wherein the lead end of the top closure is yieldable to clear the flexed end of the blade through the passageway.

4. A magazine as set forth in claim 2 wherein the top closure is slotted transversely adjacent its lead end to render said lead end yieldable to clear the flexed lead end of the blade through the passageway.

EDGAR A. NELSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 937,584 Fitch Oct. 19, 1909 1,092,067 Marx Mar. 31, 1914 1,377,576 Hammerle May 10, 1921 1,655,437 Schick Jan. 10, 1928 1,791,586 Todd Feb. 10, 1931 1,909,919 Testi May 16, 1933 2,133,018 Cahill Oct. 11, 1938 2,439,243 Dalkowitz Apr. 6, 1948 

